Alone, Together
by I'mNotASquare
Summary: She's trying to keep her job. He's trying to stay out of jail. They both are in desperate need of help, but how can they save themselves when everyone around them is just as bad? Sas/Sak many others. WARNING: Lime, slight Yuri, maybe Lemon.
1. Prologue

Sakura was awoken by the sound of birds chirping, which in her opinion seemed very cliché. The birds seemed much too cheery compared to Sakura's attitude. She was having another bout of depression.

It was almost 7:30 when she finally got the motivation to move. With a sigh, the pink haired teen rolled out of bed. She yawned, rubbing her eyes. She needed her coffee. Badly. She wasn't in the mood to dress up, so she pulled on a loose T-shirt and a pair of baggy jeans. Makeup was too much of a hassle.

She was looking forward to a steaming cup of Joe, but when she pressed 'Brew' nothing happened. The coffee maker seemed to be broken.

"Shit," Sakura cursed softly. The coffee maker had been broken for weeks. She had been planning on fixing it, but it seemed like lately she didn't do much at all. Sakura pulled open the pantry and settled on an expired poptart. She hadn't cleaned out the pantry either.

It was almost 8 when she left the house. She drove to her least favorite place on earth. It was filled with nasty food and nasty people. She especially hated Saburo, her boss. The IHOP manager didn't seem to be too happy to see her either.

"Miss Haruno, may I speak with you in my office?"

She followed the tubby man into the storage room he'd claimed as 'his office'. His desk was shoved between the mops and the buckets, and the room smelled strongly of Windex.

He gestured for her to take a seat in one of the two chairs that fight in the tiny room. The room made her sick. She was claustrophobic and _despised _the smell of Windex. Saburo sat down in the remaining chair and let out a dramatic sigh.

"Sakura, I don't know what to do with you." She frowned.

"Sir, have I done something wrong?" She could predict his response.

"No, and that's just it. You haven't done _anything_ lately. Actually, no. Not just lately. You've been an anti-social blob for almost a year." Sakura blinked, unsure of how to respond. "I sat down with a couple of your co-workers and tried to sort this out. There seems to be only one option."

"What is it, sir?" Saburo frowned and opened the top drawer of his desk. He handed her a pamphlet of some sort. She didn't need to open it. Sakura knew what it was. She was given the same pamphlet by her psychologist a week prior. There was no way in hell Sakura was attending a group therapy camp. Saburo seemed to notice her defiance, and with one sentence he crushed it.

"Sakura, if you don't attend this camp for at least two weeks, I have the Regional Manager's permission to fire you on the spot."

Aw, fuck. She needed this job. Without it she had nothing. No one would hire a high school drop-out in this economy. She could move back in with her parents, but that was pathetic. Group therapy was a nightmare, but she couldn't be unemployed.

"Okay, Saburo. I'll attend the camp, but-"

"Yes, Sakura?" She gulped.

"Is there an entry fee of some sort?" He snorted.

"The company will take care of it. Now get the hell out of here, you're scaring away our regulars." She glanced at the man, confused.

"Does that me-"

"Yes, Sakura. I'm giving you the day off. I'll even pay you for it. The camp starts tomorrow anyway, you need your sleep." She gave the man a small smile. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

"Oh, and Sakura? I know you took a syrup packet yesterday. It's coming out of your paycheck." Strike that, the man was an asshole.


	2. Chapter 1

Sakura stood at the bus stop by her house. Her things were all packed in a blue suitcase. It was her favorite bag, as she and her childhood friend used to pack it with food and supplies pretending to 'run away'. They had never gotten very far before one of their parents found them.

Instead of the usual bus, a dirty, ancient school bus pulled up to the sidewalk. The brakes made a horrible squeaking noise as the bus rolled to a stop. Sakura briefly worried whether the bus was safe or not, but pushed away her fear as the doors swung open.

She walked onto the bus, ignoring the creaky stairs. She was one of the first to board the smelly deathtrap, so she didn't worry about finding a place to sit. She shuffled to the nearest seat and sat by the window, placing her bag beside her. She hoped it would stop anyone from sitting down. She liked to be alone.

After settling in, she decided to scan the bus. There were only two passengers so far. The first person she saw was a scrawny boy with shock red hair.

_At least I'm not the only one with odd hair_

The boy seemed to be wearing a lot of eyeliner around his bright blue eyes. Something was familiar about them. He had a twisted expression on his face, as if he was deep in thought. Below one of his eyes was a small tattoo. She wondered why he would get a tattoo in such a strange place.

Sakura noted that the boy would be attractive if it wasn't for his frightening look. She wondered if he was insane. It wouldn't surprise her.

While analyzing the boy, Sakura missed the flamboyant blonde who flounced onto the bus. She was wearing very little clothing, not bothering to cover her swollen belly.

The girl walked over to Sakura with a bright smile on her face. She picked up Sakura's bag and tossed it to the floor.

"Hi! My name is Ino! What's yours?" The blonde reached to shake her hand. Sakura sweat-dropped.

"Uh, Sakura. Hi… I guess," She shook Ino's hand uncertainly.

"Sakura, hmm. That's a nice name. So, Sakura, you're not pregnant. Are you?" Sakura blushed deeply.

"Wait-wh-uh-No! _No!_" Ino laughed at her discomfort. Sakura grabbed for her water bottle, gulping nervously.

"Relax, sweetie. I was just kidding. It's so obvious you aren't. I mean, look at you! You radiate _prude._" Sakura choked on the water and glared at the flashy blonde.

"I'm not a pr-"

"Right," Ino snickered, cutting Sakura off, "You're a roaring sex machine," Sakura blushed deeper.

"That's not what I-"

"I can see it now! I bet you do your own porn. You probably have some ridiculous porn name like 'Cherry Popped' or 'Sa-cock-ra'. Oh I'd love to see it." The blonde laughed as Sakura tried to hide her mortification.

"NO! I'M NOT A PORN STAR!" Sakura screamed. The quickly filling bus went silent. Ino burst out laughing, and strangely so did Sakura. Her laugh was a bit hoarse from underuse, but she was laughing. It felt good.

"So," Ino said, pulling a chilled mocha latte from her purse, "Have you seen any hot guys on the bus?"

_We're on a therapy bus and this girl is looking for hot guys? Unbelievable._

"Uh, I don't know. I haven't really looked." It was partially true. The only person she'd seen was the redhead, and he gave her the creeps. Ino shifted in her seat to take a look at the people around her. Sakura followed.

She saw a bored-looking girl with brown hair in buns at the top of her head. She seemed to be playing with a knife of some sort. Sakura shuddered. Her eyes drifted to another kid, this one a boy, with spiky blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

The boy looked as if he had trouble staying put. His hands were tapping on the window and he looked extremely energetic. He looked kind of lonely. She thought he was cute, not necessarily hot. He reminded her of a teddy bear that desperately needed a hug.

Behind him sat a sleeping boy, whose hair reminded her of a pineapple. He was quite ordinary in her opinion. Not to mention he was very…unkempt. Sitting a couple of rows behind him was a petite looking girl with black- almost blue hair.

Her eyes were like pearls, and she looked very, very scared. Her entire body was shaking. Sakura had the sudden urge to hug her, along with the blonde boy. Next to the black-haired girl was a frightening boy.

His eyes were similar to hers. His long, brown hair was pulled into a neat ponytail. Not a thing was out of place on the boy. Even his posture was flawless.

She turned her head to see a second Ino, minus the baby bump. The girl was tall, blonde, and wearing even sluttier clothes than Ino (if possible). Sakura wasn't sure what the girl was thinking when she did her hair, but the result was quite strange. She was sitting close to the redheaded boy, and looked as if she was holding conversation with him.

The final person on the bus remained a mystery. He/She was wearing a hood and facing the window, obscuring his/her face. The mystery person's clothes hinted he was a male, but Sakura wasn't sure. She leaned to see a better look, but ended up slipping and elbowing Ino in the stomach.

"Ow, watch it, pinky. I'm carrying fragile cargo." She pointed towards her stomach. "Anyway, I found a hottie!"

"Oh, really? Who?" asked Sakura. She wondered who Ino would find attractive. The answer was not one she'd expected. Ino extended a manicured finger towards the sleeping boy.

"Sleeping Pineapple?" asked Sakura. Ino gave Sakura a puzzled look.

"His name is Shikamaru. He was in my geometry class before, well, you know," Ino gestured towards her inflated stomach. "I always thought he was hot, but he never bothered to say 'Hello' to me. Not once. Frankly, the only word I've heard him say is 'troublesome'. I never thought I'd see him here." Ino stared at the sleeping boy fondly, a soft smile on her face.

Sakura was not one to get jealous easily, but she almost wished someone would look at her like that. She was deep in thought when she heard Ino sniffle. The girl had gone from happy to upset in a matter of seconds.

"Uh, Ino? What's wrong?" The blonde looked at her through watery eyes.

"I bet he thinks I'm a slut. I bet _you_ think I'm a slut!" She sniffled softly. Sakura tried to cut her off. "No, just say it. I know I look like a total whore!" Sakura tried to calm the girl before she went into complete hysterics. People were starting to stare.

"Shhh, Ino. No, you aren't a slut. Calm down! People are staring at you…" Ino straightened up and wiped the mascara from under her eyes.

"You're right, Sakura. I need to calm down. I'm sorry about that. So, what are you here for? I was so self-absorbed I forgot to ask."

"Oh, well I-"

"Hello ladies and gentleman. My name is Tsunade, and I'll be your counselor for this week. I know you may feel uncomfortable here at first, but this week is about encouraging you to open up to those around you. I know from experience, recovery can be hard. I'm a diagnosed alcoholic. I want to…" The woman droned on, concluding her speech when the bus stopped at a small lake.

"Any questions?" asked Tsunade. Ino raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"Why the fuck are we at a lake? I thought this was an indoor camp!" Ino looked disgusted. Sakura didn't mind the outdoors and didn't understand the blonde's distress. Tsunade glared at Ino.

"Well, it's called a camp. What'd you expect? Don't worry, we'll be sleeping in cabins." The Ino-clone raised her hand as well. Tsunade sighed, not bothering to call on the girl.

"Yes, the cabins have electricity." The girl put her hand down.

After a couple more questions, Tsunade lead the group off of the bus and to the campground. When they all made it off, a silver-haired man called for their attention. He wore a mask across his lower face, making Sakura wonder what was underneath.

"Hello. I'm Kakashi. I'll be the assistant counselor." He started to walk off when Tsunade cleared her throat. "Oh, yeah. The boy's cabin is the blue building and the girl's is the pink. There are 4 rooms in each cabin. Every room has 2 beds. The room assignments will be posted outside your cabin. No one is to be seen in the opposite sex cabin after 10 o'clock at night. Thanks…er…bye." Kakashi took off running. Tsunade sighed, muttering something along the lines of 'I need sake'

Sakura followed the rest of the girls to the pink cabin by the water. It was quite a large building, which pleased Ino greatly. The girl with the odd buns pulled the room assignment off the wall and began to read out loud.

"Ino Yamanaka and Temari Suna are in the Nuturing room," Ino waved goodbye as her and her clone walked inside. "Hinata Hyuga and Sakura Haruno are in the Happiness room and I am in the Patience room." Sakura learned the girl's name was Tenten. Sakura grabbed her things and followed the others inside.

The room was quite elegant for a cabin. There were several couches in the center room, a nice TV, a kitchen, a game room, 6 bathrooms and a small library. Despite the size, Sakura found her room rather quickly. She realized her roommate was the black-haired girl she'd seen on the bus. She was glad to be partnered with the shy girl, as Sakura was not very social herself.

Hinata slipped into the room behind Sakura. The teen was incredibly shy, and hoped the pink-haired girl would not hear her entry. Unfortunately for Hinata, Sakura had incredibly good hearing.

"Hi, you must be Hinata. I'm Sakura." The pink haired girl smiled slightly, hoping to befriend Hinata. Hinata shuffled awkwardly to her side of the room. (There were double beds like in hotel rooms)

"H-hi. Yes, I-I'm H-hin-ata. Nice to m-meet you, S-sa-kura." She had a terrible stutter. It was as if she was very cold, trying to keep her teeth from chattering. Sakura had taken a liking to the frightened girl, despite her obvious flaws. In fact, maybe it was _because _of her flaws that Sakura felt safe around her.

"Hinata?"

"Y-yes?"

"Would you like to meet my friend Ino? She's a bit obnoxious, but I'm sure you'll like her." Sakura wasn't sure why she'd asked. She didn't even considered the blonde a friend. The again, Ino had certainly welcomed Sakura to camp. Sakura wanted the petite girl to feel welcome as well. Hinata looked up at her, a bit surprised.

"Okay. W-which room is sh-she in?" The black haired teen surprised herself. It wasn't like her to attend social outings. Then again, she was never invited to hang out in the first place.

"The Nurturing room. Come on, I'll show you." It struck Sakura that this was the first time she'd really tried to interact with anyone in a while, besides her odd relationship with Ino. She led the way to Ino's room and knocked on the door.

The spunky blonde answered the door while pulling a brush through her hair. She smiled at Sakura and the tiny girl cowering behind her.

"Hey Pinky, long time no see." She laughed, tossing her brush onto her bed and shutting the door behind her. She gestured towards Hinata, who shrunk behind Sakura even further. "And you are?"

"H-h-Hin-Hinata" She squeaked. Something about the blonde intimidated her greatly. Sakura frowned at the girl behind her.

"Its okay, Hinata. I don't bite" Ino smiled as Hinata eased out from behind her pink haired roommate. "So, my lovely ladies. What is the reason for your visit?"

"We just wanted to hang out, I guess. Would you like to come to our room?" Sakura gave Ino a small smile, hoping it looked sincere. Smiling was hard.

"Okie dokie, let me grab my purse," Ino patted her stomach, "You never know when the man in my life is gunna start kicking!" Sakura started to reply when she heard Hinata whisper,

"I-it is a boy?" Hinata looked…curious. Sakura had never seen an expression other than fear on her face. She was a very pretty girl; all she needed was a pinch of confidence.

"Yep," Ino looked down at her swelled stomach with pride…and a tinge of regret. "Well, the clock is ticking. I'll be right out." The blonde stepped back into her room, leaving Sakura and Hinata alone in the hallway. Sakura spoke the first thing that came to her mind.

"Do you like children?" Hinata glanced at Sakura, and gave her a small smile.

"Y-yes, I do" Ino stepped out in the hallway at that moment and looked at the smiling Hinata.

"You know, Hinata. You're really pretty when you smile." The modest girl blushed, looking a bit flustered.

"T-t-thank you I-ino," The girls walked back to the Happiness room and sat down on Sakura's bed. They talked for a while, until Ino blurted out:

"Can I give you guys makeovers?" Hinata flushed a deep red and Sakura looked at the blonde skeptically. She didn't want to look like a whore, but it was Hinata she was worried about the most. Sakura was shocked when Hinata replied first.

"S-sure, I-ino," Sakura stared wide-eyed at the shy girl. Hinata quickly corrected herself. "I-I mean if S-S-Sakura wants to!" Sakura sighed.

"Eh, what do I have to lose?" Ino clapped her hands in excitement and ran for her makeup kit. Sakura was first. Ino gave her a natural look with just a bit of lip gloss, blush and pink eye shadow to offset her dazzling emerald eyes. Sakura looked in the mirror. She felt… pretty.

It was not as if she'd never worn makeup before, but this was different. She smiled. It was almost a real smile. Almost.

Soon it was Hinata's turn. Hinata looked stunning. Ino gave her lavender eye shadow and a peachy blush, leaving her porcelain skin shining.

Both Sakura and Ino pretended they didn't notice the bruises on her neck.


	3. Chapter 2

The day turned to night as the girls bonded. Soon enough, it was time for group sharing. Ino had gone back to her room to change clothes, leaving Hinata and Sakura to do the same. Group sharing was a formal event, at least for the girls. Everyone was encouraged to look their best as a self-esteem builder. This left Sakura sorting through her favorite blue bag, desperate to find something that wasn't either a T-shirt or denim.

After watching Sakura dig through her clothes 3 times, Hinata had an idea. She found her own suitcase and pulled open a side compartment. She smiled when she saw the beautiful dress. It was her favorite, but she could never wear it. It was much too skimpy, and her cousin Neji would not approve.

She cradled the garment in her arms, before setting it on Sakura's bed. She pulled herself into her own dress before calling softly to Sakura.

'S-Sak?" They had come up with nicknames for each other, "I have s-someth-thing for you to w-wear." Sakura looked over at the dress Hinata was sitting by. Hinata melted under her stare.

"I-I m-m-mean if-"

"It's beautiful, Hina. Why don't you wear it?" Hinata gazed longingly at the maroon gown. It was fit for a queen…not her. She was nothing. She could barely speak. She didn't deserve to look pretty.

"N-no. It would l-look great on y-you." Sakura glanced at the dress. It _was_ gorgeous.

"Okay, Hinata. Thanks." Sakura changed into the gown quickly. When she came out in the dress, Hinata could barely look at her. Hinata gave her a small smile.

"Sakura deserves it." Hinata whispered to herself.

"Did you say something?" asked her roommate.

"N-no. I did not." Sakura shrugged, looking for her suitcase. When she had located the blue bag, she dug into the side pocket. She pulled out a silver charm bracelet with a smile. She slid it on her wrist. It was a bit big, but it fit well enough. Just as she slipped it on, an alarm rang. Hinata widened her eyes and Sakura cussed under her breath.

"Come on, Hina! That's the last warning bell. If we don't hurry we'll get no dinner." Sakura grabbed Hinata's arm and led her out the door. They ran through the forest until they spotted a small campsite. Kakashi was leaning against a tree, a bright orange book in his hand. Sakura blushed when she realized what it was.

"Hello, ladies. Take a seat. We've already started confessionals, but why don't you jump in?" Hinata and Sakura each grabbed a plate of food and quickly sat on an abandoned log, hoping not to draw much attention. Kakashi cleared his throat and continued.

"Okay, Tenten, why don't you start over? Remember, start with your name then tell us your problem." The brown haired teen stood. Sakura tried to ignore the knife in the girl's hand.

"Hi, I'm Tenten. You might know me as the girl who was expelled from kindergarten. I brought in a switchblade," Sakura felt uneasy. She was suddenly glad she wasn't sharing a room with Tenten. "I'm not a violent person. I just feel…unsafe without my weapons. I was given a pocketknife to protect myself at a young age, and I was fascinated by it. It gave me so much power. I never put it down. _Never. _I brought it to swimming class, in the shower, to restaurants. Everywhere I went I clutched the knife. It became my best friend and my worst enemy. I loved it, but others did not. The children were scared of me, and I began to enjoy their fear. It was more power. My name is Tenten and I have control issues." The girl sat back down as the group clapped. Kakashi pushed off the tree and closed his book.

"Great job, Tenten. Who's next?" Ino raised her hand. She was sitting by her roommate, but judging by the distance between them, they were not on speaking terms.

"Okay, Miss Yamanaka. Your turn." Ino stood, wobbling a bit with her baby weight.

"Hi, I'm Ino. It's pretty damn obvious what my issue is. I'm a teenage mom. Despite what you may think, I am not a slut. I was for a while, but it wasn't my choice. My mother was a prostitute as were my two sisters. They expected me to be the same way, no, they _forced_ me to be. I had a bright future. I was whizzing through high school. It was the second week of junior year when my mom lost it. She told me I was worthless, that if I didn't start helping the family she'd drop me on the streets. I didn't want to give myself away, but if it meant having a family I would do anything. He was not attractive. Let's just say that. I won't go into detail, but we didn't use protection. When I found out I was pregnant, I went crying to my mom. She was disgusted. She wouldn't even look at me. The worst part about it was knowing that she wasn't angry that I had slept with someone. No, she was mad because I had done the unthinkable and gotten pregnant. My name is Ino and I'm a teenage mother."

Sakura felt terrible. She had labeled Ino as a whore without getting to know her first. Ino had a hard life, and Sakura had just ruled her pregnancy off as sluttiness.

The next boy to go was Shikamaru. He didn't bother to stand up.

"Hello," He yawned, "I'm Shikamaru. I have zero motivation to do anything. It's not depression. No, but I wish it was. I have honestly lost all interest in education, hobbies-anything. Eve making this speech is a total drag. It might have been the drugs I started taking. I don't even know anymore. I guess I'm a drug addict. I like to try a new drug every week. It's the only thing exciting in my life. I wouldn't call myself an addict really, because I never use the same drug twice. My psychiatrist called it experimentation, but that sounds gay. Whatever. This is so troublesome. My name is Shikamaru and I'm a drug…experimenter."

The confessions went on and on.

"Hello. I am Gaara. I am here because of my violent tendencies. That is all." The red headed boy sat down. Kakashi didn't seem pleased with his confession, but he continued on.

"Hello. I am Neji. I don't have an issue. I am here on behalf of my cousin, Hinata."

"Now, Nej-" Kakashi tried to correct him

"I do not have an issue. Thank you."

The blonde buy practically jumped out of his seat on his turn

"Hey! I'm Naruto! I looove ramen. Do you like ramen? I'd have to say my top ten flavors of ramen a-"

"Naruto!" Kakashi barked. Naruto gave him a sheepish smile.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever Kakashi. Oh! Anyway, my name's Naruto and I have a reaaaaalllyyy bad temper. It may not seem like it but apparently I do. I guess I need anger management, but I'm pretty happy all the time! So…. Yeah. That's me. Oh, as I was saying, I am the God of Ramen! I've won 46 ramen eating contests an-"

"Ahem, thank you, Naruto." Kakashi sweat dropped. Naruto bounced back into his seat with a huge smile on his face. Sakura wondered how someone like him could end up here.

"I'm Temari, and I'm a sex addict. I love sex like dork-face here loves ramen. I mean, what's not to love? Everyone says being addicted to sex is a bad thing, but is it really? I have a lot higher stamina than most girls and I'll fuck you for free," Kakashi tried to stop her, but she kept talking. "See, it's not so bad. It's not like I'm a walking STD either. I've only got a couple! So yeah, I'm only here 'cause my teacher said I was 'distracting' The students and faculty. I don't get it. I only slept with a couple teachers. No biggie. My name's Temari and I'm a sex addict" Temari finished with a smile, leaving Sakura, Hinata and Tenten blushing like mad.

It was Hinata's turn. She stood shakily, using Sakura's shoulder as support.

"H-h-h-hi. I'm H-hinata." She looked at all the faces staring up at her. Suddenly, she panicked. "I-I c-can't do this!" Hinata ran from the circle off into the forest. Both Ino and Sakura stood to help, but were stopped by Kakashi.

"It's okay. Let her be. She'll work up to it. Sakura, go ahead." Sakura sighed, not sure whether to feel sorry for Hinata or herself. At least Hinata wouldn't have to confess tonight. Sakura stood, trying to calm her shaking legs.

"Hi, I'm Sakura. I'm not really sure why I'm here. My boss just told me I was scaring away the customers. I guess I've just been a little unhappy lately." She looked down at her shoes. "I live alone except for my fish, so I guess that could be why. I'm also a dropout, so that's not all that great. Um, I'm not really sure what to say. My psychiatrist told me I suffer from terminal depression, so I'm guessing that's it. My name is Sakura and I am terminally depressed." She sat quickly; glad to have gotten it over with. Sure, it wasn't exactly poetry, but it worked.

There was an awkward pause. No one stood up to share. Kakashi cleared his throat. Again, silence. Finally, Kakashi sighed.

"Sasuke Uchiha, if you don't share you're going back to jail. Take that hood off your head; you look like a homeless person." The boy sighed and pulled off his hood. Sakura couldn't take her eyes off him. He was…beautiful. She had never described a boy as beautiful before, especially not a criminal, but it was the first word that came to her mind.

His ebony hair was spiked in the back and long in the front, framing his pale face. He had big coal-black eyes filled with pain. He even had nice lips. Sakura blushed at the thought.

Sasuke growled something under his breath.

"What was that, Sasuke?" The boy glared at Kakashi. If looks could kill…

"Hn."

"'Hn' is not a real word, Sasuke. Nor does it sum up your problems."

"Fine. I'm Sasuke. I'm an alcoholic." Kakashi snorted. Sasuke rolled his eyes. "And I do drugs. Am I done?"

"That's good for tonight," Sakura could have sworn she saw a sad smile on the silver-haired man's face, underneath his mask. The raven-haired boy sat back down, shoving iPod ear buds in his ears. Kakashi sighed and made his way to the center again.

"Good job everyone. It's getting pretty late. I need a volunteer to fetch a bucket of water to put out the fire. No one raised their hand. "Thank you, Sasuke."

"Hn." Sasuke left for the woods.

"Sakura, please make sure Hinata makes it back safely. Sakura nodded, walking into the forest after Sasuke. The others picked up their stuff and went their own way.

Sakura called softly to Hinata. There was no response. She tried again, a little louder. That's when she heard sniffling. She turned towards a small tree and saw Hinata curled up in a ball. She was talking to herself.

"You're worthless. No one likes you. Even your own father thinks so. You're just a stupid bitch who can't even form coherent sentences. No one would miss you if you died."

"You're being stupid. Don't you dare kill yourself, people will blame me."Sakura hadn't noticed the boy leaning against the tree. Apparently neither did Hinata.

"Oh!" She uncurled herself and scooted away from the tree, "I-I'm s-s-sorry S-sasuke!" Sakura shifted behind a tree, hoping not to be seen.

"I can see your hair from a mile away, Sa-ku-ra" The way he pronounced her name sent shivers down her spine. She didn't know how to respond.

"Hn. You're annoying." Sakura frowned, choosing to ignore him. She walked up to Hinata and helped her up. It struck her then that the god-like boy had been _comforting_ Hinata- in his own twisted way of course. Sakura gestured for Hinata to go on her own. She had something to do. Sakura blinked, turning towards Sasuke.

"Thank you. For comforting Hinata, I mean." Sasuke stared at her, expression blank.

"Tch. Whatever." Sakura sighed and turned towards her own cabin. She almost missed the mumbled, "You're welcome."

Sakura smiled softly and walked back to her own cabin. She didn't notice the silver charm bracelet slip off her arm.


	4. Disclaimer READ!

Disclaimer: I realized I had not been posting a disclaimer on my previous chapters. This is my first fanfiction, so give me a break. I do not own Naruto, obviously. I am a lowly fanfiction writer *sobs*. Sasuke is going to perform an interpretive dance just to prove I do not own Naruto.

NotASquare: Take it away, Sasuke!

Sasuke: Over my dead body

Itachi: *swoops in from above* That can be arranged! *evil laugh*

Sasuke: …That was…lame…

Itachi: Jeez! I'm sorry! Stop badgering me! *runs off to cry in a corner*

NotASquare: Now, now, Sasuke! You know Itachi is very self-conscious about his evil laugh.

Sasuke: Hn.

NotASquare: No tomatoes for you, mister!

Sasuke: *throws a kunai*

NotASquare:*falls over*

The END!

Oh, and you can request couples if you like. I don't mind anything but Yaoi.

Yaoi is for squares, and I'm NotASquare.


	5. Chapter 3

A note from the author: Hey guys. Thanks for reading! You've been really supportive. I've had this written for a while, but I wan't satisfied with it. Sorry if it's not that great. **WARNING: Yuri and lime. Do not read if this offends you! **Also, the couple in this is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing** It is NOT permanent**. Sorry if it's dissapointing!

I do not own Naruto. Here's Neji with a rap to prove it.

Neji: No.

NAS: Yes! You promised!

Neji: I never promised. You tied me up and forced me to say yes.

NAS: Pshh. Details.

Neji: I will _never_ rap

NAS: Do you want...tomatoes? Oh wait. That's Sasuke.

Neji: *activates byakugan* Never compare me to the Uchiha!

NAS: Okay, i've got to deal with Neji, He's a tad bit sassy at the moment. Enjoy!

I'm not insane, I'm just NotASquare

3 NAS 3

When she got back, Hinata was waiting for her. Her shy friend hugged her tightly the second she opened the door. She was sobbing.

"S-s-sak-sakura, I'm a f-failure! I couldn't e-even t-tell them what's w-wrong with m-me!" Hinata was shaking so hard, Sakura had to pull her towards the bed. She undressed the hysterical girl and tossed her a T-shirt. Hinata barely managed to put it on through her tears.

She tucked Hinata into bed hoping the sheets would act as comfort. She didn't know how to calm the girl, so she didn't try. Sakura dressed in her own night clothes, pulling off Hinata's gown. With a sad smile, she folded the maroon dress on top of Hinata's bag. The sobbing quieted, and when Sakura went to check on her friend, she was sound asleep.

Sakura felt very, very old. What happened to caring for herself? Sakura was stuck mending her friends when she was broken as well.

Sometimes Sakura would imagine herself as a boat with a hole in it. People took refuge on the boat, not realizing it was sinking. She would try to tell them but no one would listen. Why did she always end up dragging people down with her?

Sakura sat in her own bed, curling the sheets around her. She wondered how one day could seem like a million years. She thought of her new friends and the people she had yet to meet. Mostly she thought of Sasuke. She thought of his hair, his skin, and his eyes.

His eyes. From a distance they were large and black, but close up they were an ocean. He had the deepest eyes she had ever seen. She could see snippets of his past, his future-everything. She wanted to see more, but at the same time she was scared. In his eyes she saw an unimaginable struggle. She saw pain, suffering and hate. The worst of all was loneliness.

Sakura wanted to help people. She had always dreamed of becoming a doctor, ever since an elderly woman died from a heart attack before her very eyes. She was helpless. All she could do was watch the crippled form of Ms. Baker convulse on the floor. Sakura _hated _being helpless. From that day forward, she had vowed to help people no matter what. She was eight years old. Her dream was crushed the second she dropped out of high school.

Naturally, Sakura felt the need to help the raven-haired boy. She knew he would push her away, but it was worth it. She needed to keep her promise. She had promised to help people, and while her career as a doctor hadn't worked out as planned (She _had_ saved a man from choking on a blueberry at IHOP) she still wanted to help others.

As Sakura lay gazing at the cabin's wood ceiling, she made yet another promise. She would help Sasuke Uchiha if it killed her.

Hopeless Hinata

Hinata Hyuga was always overlooked. She was rather plain looking, in her opinion. Her eyes were white, her hair black. She was nothing special.

Hinata was born to an upper-class family. Her father was a wealthy businessman and her mother was a loyal wife. Hinata loved her younger sister, Hanabi, dearly. Her family was relatively happy despite slight financial troubles later on. It wasn't until Hinata's 15th birthday that everything went downhill.

It was a tradition in the Hyuga family to purchase their oldest child a car at 15 rather than 16. Hinata was elated when she saw her brand new Rolls Royce sitting in the driveway. Her mother had insisted that she take it for a test run. She had just received her learner's permit, so she wasn't the best of drivers. No one could have predicted what would happen on her first drive.

The dark-haired Hyuga woke up in cold sweat. She'd been dreaming about the accident again. With a sigh, Hinata pulled herself out of bed and stumbled towards the bathroom. She paused briefly to watch her roommate. The pink haired beauty was sound asleep, snoring softly. Hinata noted that she looked happiest unconscious.

Hinata liked Sakura a lot, but it was obvious the girl was in over her head.

_**Maybe if she didn't have to babysit you, she'd get better. A lot of people would benefit if you just disappeared.**_

Hinata sighed. Her inner self wasn't very nice. The shy teen made her way into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She was shocked to see her reflection.

Her eyes were bright red and puffy, making her look insane. Her lips were covered in crusted lip gloss, her cheeks were stained with mascara drippings, and her nose was crispy with dried mucus. Not to mention her hair. It was flying every which way, making her wish she had kept it short.

She must have been staring at herself in the mirror a while, more out of embarrassment than vanity, because a certain pink haired teen had awoken and joined her in the bathroom.

"Hey Hinata!" Sakura yawned, giving her friend a small smile. Hinata could tell it was fake.

"H-hello Sakura. Um..can y-you help m-me?" Sakura turned to Hinata, giving her a puzzled expression. Hinata shrunk away, her confidence draining.

"N-nevermi-"

"Sure. What do you need?" Hinata pointed towards her face. Sakura let out a small laugh, making Hinata flush scarlet.

"No problem. It seems your eyes are a bit puffy from crying. I know how to cover that up." Hinata didn't miss the underlying meaning of her words. She had a feeling Sakura had learned from experience.

"T-thank you, Sak." The pink haired teen pulled out a small makeup bag covered in little red cherries. It was empty besides a tube of mascara, makeup remover, and cover-up in a palette of different skin tones. She gestured for Hinata to take a seat on the counter.

Sakura leaned in, carefully wiping the makeup from underneath Hinata's pearl eyes. She picked the lightest color of cover-up and gently dusted it onto her pale friend's face. She moved expertly around Hinata's eyes, making the puffiness disappear. When Sakura was finished, the only indication that she had been crying was a slight pink coloring to the whites of her eyes. Satisfied with her work, Sakura ran into her bedroom to retrieve a brush.

Hinata waited, anxious to get the tangles out of her hair. After a quick brushing, Sakura tied a navy blue ribbon through Hinata's hair.

"Well, I covered up the puffiness. I'll go get Ino to do your make up. Wait right there!" She raced out of the room, leaving the petite Hyuga on her own. She walked to her bag and pulled out her cell phone. She had twenty-three new messages. They were all from Neji.

Sender: Neji Time: 9:23 PM

Did you make it back safely?

Sender: Neji Time: 9:28 PM

Hinata. Respond Now.

Sender: Neji Time: 9:31 PM

Your father won't be pleased when I tell him what happened at Confessionals. Reply and I may leave out some details.

The texts continued on like that until almost midnight. Hinata panicked. Her father could _not _know about her fleeing from the campfire. She scooped up her cell phone and dialed the only number in her contacts. He picked up after one ring.

"Hinata, I am disappointed in you."

"I-I Know N-neji! P-please don't tell f-father!"

"I am not sure what my next course of action will be. You were given a cell phone for a reason. Use it. If you were injured, I would be punished."

"I'm s-sorry Neji."

"If it is done again, expect consequences."

"Y-yes Sir," There was a brief pause, "Um N-neji?"

"Yes?" Hinata took a deep breath.

"W-why..." She squirmed, unable to get the words out. "Whydidyoulieatconfessionals?!"

"Talk slower."

"I-I said, Why d-did you lie a-at Confessionals?" Silence. She heard a beep. Neji had hung up.

With a sigh, Hinata pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. She made her way back to the bathroom and sat on the counter, feeling very much alone.

Ino burst through the door quiet suddenly, making Hinata jump. She'd been deep in thought, and hadn't expected the blonde's sudden entrance.

"Hey bay-bay! I heard you are in need of my fabulous makeup expertise. Never fear, Ino is here!" She stormed into the bathroom with a huge smile on her face and about a pound of makeup in her hands. Sakura started to walk in, but Ino shooed her out.

"Get out of here! I need room to create my masterpiece." Sakura rolled her eyes. Ino was a very 'bubbly' person. Sakura grabbed her purse and opened the front door.

"I'm going to go for a walk. Don't make Hinata too slutty." She had no idea…

Sakura shut the door behind her with a click. Ino smiled, pulling out an assortment of eye shadows. She picked a small packet labeled 'Smoky Eye'.

She approached Hinata with a small makeup wand and leaned in close. Hinata studied her face through one eye as Ino made-up the other. Suddenly, Ino stopped. Hinata realized she was staring back at her. There was something strange about the look her blonde friend was giving her. Hinata was about to ask when Ino leaned in closer.

Hinata's eyes widened as Ino's lips brushed against her own. She smiled at Hinata, and kissed her again, this time with more ferocity. Hinata didn't know what to do. She liked the sensation of Ino's lips against her own, but it was _Ino._ Hinata did the only thing she knew how to. She kissed back.

The kiss started out gentle- especially from Hinata's side- but Ino became impatient. She swiped her tongue against Hinata's lower lip, asking for entry. Hinata allowed it. She enjoyed the tingly feeling of Ino's mint breath spray.

It wasn't clear how they ended up on the bed, but Hinata found herself pushed against the headboard with Ino's fingers knotted in her hair. They paused briefly, both gasping for breath. Ino leaned in with a seductive grin on her face.

"I want to make you feel things you've never felt before." She whispered into Hinata's ear, "Is that okay with you?" Hinata felt an unfamiliar burning in her stomach. She nodded quickly; ready for whatever Ino was going to do. Ino let out a small giggle before speaking again.

"This is going to be fun. Lay back, Hinata." Hinata did as told. Ino crawled up closer, swinging her legs so she was sitting across Hinata's crotch with one leg on either side. The burning in Hinata's abdomen was unbearable.

"Can I take off your shirt?" Ino whispered with a sly smile. She knew from the look on Hinata's face what the answer would be. Hinata flushed as Ino lifted her T-shirt over her head. She crossed her arms over her bra, feeling self conscious. Ino purred in delight.

"You're a big girl. Did you know that?" Hinata shook her head, feeling embarrassed.

"Relax. Now tell me," Ino licked her earlobe, "Are you a virgin?" Hinata nodded again, afraid to speak. Ino's smile grew.

"Good. Now it's time to say goodbye to the bra." It was then that Naruto walked in.

"Hello?! Is anyone here? I was wondering if you had any ramen. I'm starving and teme ate the last package." He didn't notice the girls frantically separating from each other. He didn't even notice the shirtless Hinata plowing under the sheets for cover. Naruto kept on blabbering. "It was tomato flavor, which is the worst kind if you ask me, but at least it was ramen. Hey, you guys have a nicer room than I do. I bet you have a bigger bathroom too. Teme hogs the bathroom every morning. He's like a woman!" There was an awkward pause.

"So, I guess you don't have any ramen?" Ino sweat dropped.

"No, Naruto. We don't have any ramen. Now would you please leave? You could've knocked, you know." Naruto stared at Ino blank-faced.

"Oh. Okay. Bye!" Naruto flounced out of the room, leaving the girls in uncomfortable silence. It was Hinata who broke it first.

"'Uh I-ino?" Ino sighed.

"I know what you're about to say. I'm sorry; these hormones are driving me crazy. I didn't mean to kiss you or… do other stuff." Ino smiled sheepishly, making Hinata blush. "I hope I didn't steal your first kiss. I'm bisexual, by the way, if you didn't catch that already."

Hinata glanced at the saddened blonde. No, she didn't want her to be unhappy.

"I-it's okay Ino. Y-you didn't steal m-my first k-kiss." Ino looked relieved. "I-I'm not b-bisexual, but I k-kind of enjoyed it" Hinata blushed. The blonde smiled at her, taking it as praise.

"That's called experimenting. It was fun, Hina. If you ever change your mind-or shall I say sexuality- I'll be here." She winked at Hinata before collecting her makeup and walking out the door.

Hinata lay on her bed, her head dizzy with thoughts. She liked Ino, but she didn't _like_ Ino. Or at least that's what she'd thought before... the incident. She wondered if the pleasure she'd felt was Ino or the excitement of sex in general.

Before long, the Hyuga felt her stomach grumbling. She was about to leave the house when she caught her reflection in the mirror. One eye was outlined in black while the other was makeup free, and worst of all; she wasn't wearing a shirt. For the first time in a long time, Hinata laughed. It wasn't just giggling either. She found herself hysterically laughing, rolling back and forth on the cabin floor. She was laughing so hard that tears had found their way to her eyes.

She finally stopped. Pulling herself off the floor, she dusted off her jeans and found her discarded T-shirt. She pushed it down over her head and made her way to the bathroom. She rubbed the caked eye shadow off her eyes and continued to the door. It was getting close to dinnertime and Hinata hadn't had lunch or breakfast.

She found herself alone at the camp's cafeteria. Most of the food was picked through, but she found a decent ham and cheese sandwich. She picked the closest bench and sat down. Busy eating, she didn't notice the boy until he plopped down next to her.

"HI HINATA!" The blonde boy smiled brightly, practically screaming his greeting. Hinata jumped.

"Inside voice, Naruto." A voice came from the kitchen. It sounded like Tsunade. Hinata scooted away from the loud-mouth.

"H-hi Naruto," She found herself staring at the boy. He was very attractive close up. His blue eyes were nothing like Ino's. Ino's were sly and confident while Naruto's were innocent and a bit…insecure? No, that couldn't be right. The boy was like a self-winding windup toy. Maybe there was more than meets the eye.

"…and then I said 'YOU'LL NEVER CATCH ME ALIVE!' and started running. It would've worked but my pants were still around my ankles so I tripped down the stairs." Hinata hadn't realized he was talking. Whoops…

"Hey, I think there's something in your hair. Here, let me get it!" Naruto brushed back her hair and removed a piece of lint. Hinata blushed deeply.

"Are you okay? You look kind of red. Maybe you have a fever. Oh! The nurse taught me the easiest way to tell if you have a temperature. It's like this!"

CRASH!


	6. Chapter 4 short, sorry

Hey! I know I posted earlier, but I felt like posting again :P. 3 more reviews and I'll post next chapter! (I upload fasssttttt!)

I'm not insane. I'mNotASquare

3 INAS3

Sorrowful Sakura

"Naruto, you are truly dead last." Sasuke sighed. The blonde boy amazed him with his stupidity.

"What'd I do wrong!?! I just kissed her forehead!" Naruto flailed his arms, frustrated with the whole situation.

Sakura kneeled by her friend's bedside, listening to the boys argue.

"You probably scared her to death. Hn. Dobe."

"How was I supposed to know she was going to faint?! It's not like I raped her or something." Sakura glared at the blonde.

"Shut up, she can probably hear us. The poor girl is out cold, but she may still have control over her senses. Hey, what did the nurse say?" Sakura had rushed to help Hinata, but hadn't arrived with Sasuke until the nurse had left.

"She said her blood pressure was normal. And- hey, do you think they'll let me take home a pair of those rubber gloves?" Sakura sweat dropped.

"Naruto! Did the nurse say when she's going to wake up?" Naruto paused for a moment to think. His face lit up.

"Oh yeah! She said it would be an hour at most. But seriously, what do you think? I really want a pair of those gloves."

Sakura chose to ignore the boy. She stood up and brushed the dirt off her clothes, hissing when she scraped one of her many cuts.

_Damn Uchiha._

The boys were standing awkwardly to the side.

"Okay guys, you can leave. Thank you for helping me carry her in here." She smiled watching Sasuke turn to leave. Naruto hesitated. He bent down toward Hinata and whispered a quiet:

"Sorry!"

When they had both left, Sakura decided to take a shower. She undressed quickly and hopped into the warm flow. As she went to rinse her pink locks, the day's events unfolded in her head. She couldn't help but frown when she thought of a certain stubborn coal-eyed boy that seemed to have permanently lodged himself in her mind.

He was an enigma.

Earlier that day

The day had started out fine. She had left Ino to do Hinata's make-up as asked. She wanted to tour the camp a bit more, so she decided to talk a walk. The sun was bright, the birds were chirping…and Sakura felt like shit. She'd gotten about three hours of sleep the night before. Sadly, it was more than she usually got.

Sakura found herself standing by the very tree she'd seen the Uchiha leaning against almost 12 hours ago. No matter how hard she tried to rid her thoughts of the beautiful boy they always seemed to come back. It was ridiculous. She barely knew him. With a sigh, she continued her walk.

_He could be a complete asshole. He called me annoying._

_**He comforted Hinata. And not to mention he's smoking hot.**_

_What are you doing here? I thought I got rid of you._

_**Nah, it's called hibernation, bitch. I'm your inner self. It takes a lot more than a little depression to kill me off. As I was saying, have you seen his body? You could melt ice cream on those abs…and then lick it allllllll off. Mmmm.**_

_Ew. We haven't even seen his abs. I mean, he's not bad looking…_

_**Ha! Quit kidding yourself. You think he's fiiiiinnneeee.**_

_Shut your face. You're giving me a headache _

_**No, the reason you h-**_

Sakura slammed into a wall of some sort. Oh wait. Standing in front of her was the one and only Sasuke Uchiha. He didn't look too happy to see her. She wasn't exactly elated to see him either.

"Oops, I'm sorry. I'll be going now, bye!" She stepped to the side, ready to continue her walk when she heard a softly spoken word. She paused.

"What?" He turned to face her. She couldn't help but stare. She could hear her inner cheering, but chose to ignore it.

"Wait." He stared at her, face seemingly void of emotion. Sakura could see differently. He could hide his emotions from a less observant person, but she could see the pain. She realized he was expecting her to say something. Her face heated up under his stare.

"U-uh, okay." Great, she sounded like Hinata. Her inner face-palmed its self. He reached into his pocket.

_**Maybe he's getting a condom! Maybe he's gunna make-**_

_Oh, just shut up._

He pulled out a small silver bracelet. Her eyes widened. She looked down at her wrist. Sure enough, it wasn't there. She gave him a small smile before reaching for it. He jerked his hand away with a smirk

"Finders, keepers."

"Not in my book. Hand it over, Uchiha." His smirk widened. He tossed it into a thick bush. Sakura growled.

"I'll let you go by my book then. If you can find it, you can keep it." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and started to walk off.

"Not so fast, pretty boy." He froze. Slowly he turned around to face her. She could have sworn his eyes flashed red.

"What did you call me?" He hissed. Sakura was afraid to push him any further. She smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of her head.

"Heh, never mind. I _would_ appreciate your help though." She batted her eyelashes, trying to look as cute as possible. He snorted, turning back around.

"Cute, but no. See you later, Sa-ku-ra." She fumed as the black-haired god strutted off. Yes, the boy strutted.

She spent an hour and a half looking for her bracelet. When she had finally found it, her lower body was covered in about a pound of mud, and her arms were covered in an assortment of cuts and sores. She didn't even want to think of how many spiders were probably crawling across her scalp.

"Damn Uchiha and his stupid-ass idea of a joke."

"I thought it was quite humorous." Sakura's eyes widened as she looked up into a nearby apple tree. Sasuke was sitting on one of the branches, eating an apple. He yawned and took another bite. Sakura could only stare.

"H-how long have you been up there?!?" She screeched. She tried to remember how many times she'd picked her wedgies. Great.

"Relax. I just got here. I _do_ have a life." He grumbled, unhappy with her reaction. She calmed down a bit, realizing her mistake. Why the hell would he watch her the entire time? No one was _that_ interested in her. Not even her inner self liked her that much.

She sighed, inspecting her cuts.

"Let me see." She jumped at the sound of his voice. Wasn't he just in a tree? How the hell did he…? She shook her head, turning towards the boy. He grabbed her right arm and examined her wounds. He hadn't realized that the sleeve of his sweatshirt had slipped off, but she did. She wished she hadn't. It was hard to miss the deep cuts on his wrists. Sakura felt sick.

To know that he was driven so far that he felt he had to injure himself? It made her want to vomit. He let go of her arm and snorted.

"They're not bad." She wanted to help him so bad it hurt. She acted on impulse.

To say he didn't expect to feel her arms around him was an understatement. He tensed, unsure of how to react. He pulled away quicker than he wanted to.

"What are you doing." It was spoken as more of a statement than a question. His voice was cold. It lacked the playfulness he'd had just seconds before.

"I'm sorry. Uh, I don't really know… um… It's past lunch right? Do you wanna maybe go get-" Sasuke's cell phone rang, thankfully cutting Sakura off. Was she really about to ask him to lunch? Did she have a death wish?

"How did you get my cell phone number, dobe…. What? What'd you do? …Idiot…" He sighed, rolling his eyes. "I'm on my way." He turned to Sakura.

"Naruto made the Hyuga girl faint. I assume you want to help. They're at the cafeteria." Sakura sighed, following Sasuke to the brown building in the center of the campsite.

When they arrived, the blonde boy was holding Hinata in his arms. He had a look of pure horror on his face. Sakura rushed forward to help her friend.

"Take her back to the room. I'll hold open the door." Sasuke stepped forward to help the panicked blonde. He took Hinata's feet as Naruto held her head. Moving slowly, they moved the pale Hyuga to her room. Sakura held open the door as Sasuke and Naruto set her down on the bed.

"Naruto, you are truly dead last."


	7. Chapter 5 SORRY FOR THE WAIT!

**Holy Moly it's been a while! I completely forgot about this story! Jeez, sorry readers (If I have any left). I guess I got so caught up in watching InuYasha and Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood that I forgot all about Naruto! Bad INAS! Well, ANYWAY. Here's the latest chapter (took long enough). It may be a while until I post anymore because this is literally all I've written. (hehehe). Well, Here goes nothing!**

**Oh, and yeah. If I owned Naruto, Sakura wouldn't have been such a wimpy ninja, Sasuke would love her, and Neji would take a potion that forced him to talk in a gay voice for a week! :O …I guess it's a good thing I don't own Naruto…**

Truthful Temari

Temari woke up to the sound of her roommate vomiting. The day was certainly starting out pleasant. With a soft huff of air, she lifted herself out of bed. She stood quickly and headed towards the bathroom door. She raised her fist to knock.

"Hey, Ino-pig. Stop hogging up the bathroom." Her only response was yet another retching noise. She suppressed a shudder and knocked again.

"Ino! Can you at least hand me my toothbrush? And maybe my makeup bag? Hello?"

Ino opened the door and tossed out Temari's stuff, pausing only to glare at her rival blonde. Temari noted that Ino hadn't had the best night's sleep, so it might not be a good idea to mess with her.

Temari grabbed a water bottle and some toothpaste from her bag. She attempted to brush her teeth without a sink, which turned out to be quite difficult.

The blonde shifted through her purse and pulled out a small, wide-toothed comb. She pulled the bristles through her think hair slowly and carefully. She pretended not to notice the amount of hair coming out.

_Girls aren't supposed to lose their hair at this age_

She finished getting ready after applying makeup and made her way to the closet. Scanning the items quickly, she pulled out some sweats and a T-shirt. They were comfortable enough. Temari covered her mouth as she coughed.

A sickly looking Ino emerged from the bathroom. Her face was a bit green, but her makeup was done. Even her hair was shining and perfect. Temari squashed the bit of jealousy that rose inside her.

"Finally. Did you throw up the baby?" Ino glared at her look-alike. Temari had forgotten how scary Ino could look without at least 6 hours of sleep.

"No. I didn't. Now get the fuck away from me, Temari-slut." Ino paused, looking over at Temari, "Wait a second. You're wearing _that?_" Temari looked down at her outfit, trying to find something wrong with it. Oh. _Oh._

"Chill pig, I just wore this to put on my makeup. I didn't want to mess up any of my real outfits." Ino sneered, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"You're so conceited, you know that? There are people way worse off than you in the world- at this camp even, and all you can think about is your slutty clothing. I may dress badly, but you add a whole new level to whoredom."

Temari ignored the pang of sadness she felt at Ino's words and channeled her inner anger instead.

"Whatever, bitch. Stop acting like you know me. I'm not the one lugging around illegitimate child. You should be ashamed. Your sob story was cute and all, but reeked of bullshit. Just for the record, there are a lot of people worse off than you as well."

Ino scoffed.

"_I _should be ashamed?! You're here for an addiction to sex! How is that even a real addiction? And my 'sob story' was real, not that I give a damn about what you thin-" Temari let out a hacking cough, shaking her whole body. She placed her hand up to her mouth, hoping she wasn't spitting all over the place. The attack subsided, and she looked at her hand.

Blood. God damn it. She ran to her suitcase and pulled out a small pill case. She gulped down two. With a sigh, she wiped the blood onto her sweats.

Ino stood, staring at the splotch on Temari's pants. She looked a bit shocked. There was an awkward silence.

"Um, what the fuck was that?" asked Ino. All previous hatred was gone from her voice. Temari stared down at the floor.

"Nothing. Shouldn't you be at breakfast?" Neither one of them moved. Ino spoke slowly; as if afraid her words would cause Temari to have another fit.

"I could ask you the same thing…"

"I already ate." Temari replied a little too quickly. Ino narrowed her eyes.

"Don't lie to me."

"Fine. I haven't eaten, but I'm on a new diet." Ino stared at her disbelievingly.

"Truth. Now."

"I'll eat a big lunch!" The answer seemed to satisfy the blonde. Either that or she was too tired to argue any longer. Ino opened the front door and left Temari alone. Temari sat on the bed, letting out a sigh.

Temari wondered why Ino hated her. She hadn't tried to start anything, she'd just mentioned her relationship with Shikamaru and Ino had gone ballistic. It was pretty obvious the pregnant blonde had feeling for Shika.

Temari had known Shikamaru for a very long time. They had gone to preschool together and graduated middle school together. The first time they'd been apart was high school, but they'd still stayed in touch. They had an unbreakable connection. Suffering brings people together.

The tall blonde played with the string on her sweatpants absentmindedly. The encounter with Ino had been much too close for her liking. She'd have to further distance herself from the girl. Temari briefly wondered if she could move into one of the empty cabin rooms.

She had been so deep in thought she'd nearly missed the knock on the door. She cleared her throat, sending her into another coughing fit.

"Come in!" She called in between coughs. A skinny boy with bright red hair slid inside, closing the door behind him quickly. He was trembling as he approached her. Temari caught her breath, stood abruptly and pulled the boy into a hug.

"It's okay, Gaara. Tell me what's wrong." The redhead recoiled, squirming out of her grasp. He gave her a look of disgust, letting out a raspy cry.

"Don't touch me." Temari withdrew, pulling her hands away. She'd forgotten he didn't like to be touched. She tried to speak, but her voice failed her.

"They're back. They want me to kill. I can't stop them…" She hated seeing him this way. Temari regretted the times she'd chosen to let Kankuro handle Gaara's outbursts; She had no idea what to do.

"Who's back?" The pale boy didn't answer. He fell to the floor and shook vigorously, letting out a pained yelp. Temari's eyes widened. She froze.

"G-Gaara?" The blonde bent down to help the convulsing boy. Her eyes were misty. She leaned over him slowly, scared to move more than an inch.

"G-Gaara?" She called again. No response. He continued to shake. Temari panicked, reaching for her cell phone. Gaara mumbled something.

"What? Gaara, did you say something?"

"No hospitals" He choked. Temari paused, but didn't set down the phone. She wasn't planning on calling a hospital anyway. They'd lock him up again. They'd say he was crazy. Temari knew he wasn't.

"I'm not. Don't worry." Gaara screamed in pain. Temari dialed quickly, ignoring the tears running down her face. The phone began to ring.

"Hello?"

"Kankuro! Oh my g-"

"Gaara?"

"Yes! Please help me. I don't know what to do! I accidently touched him then he started convulsing and I tried to comfort him but he won't st-" Her voice was trembling.

"Temari!"

"Y-yes?"

"Calm down. He's going to be fine. Just put me on speakerphone." She did as told and set the phone next to Gaara.

"Gaara?" The slightly muffled voice called. Gaara's eyes widened.

"K-kankuro…" He slurred, pushing himself into a new fit. Temari couldn't watch. She sat on her bed and broke down crying into her pillow. What a messed up family they were…

"Gaara. Listen to me. They have no power over you. You need to calm yourself." The redheaded boy let out a small whimper.

"B-but"

"No. Shhh… Be still," Gaara continued to tremble, "You're letting them get to you. Look, you're frightening Temari. I can hear her crying. Do you want to scare her?"

"No…" He murmured. Temari couldn't see, but his shaking had subsided a little.

"Then calm yourself. You have control over your own body. You don't have to kill anyone. It's your choice."

"They're killing me. Make them go away…" He sounded so fragile, so helpless. He sounded like a little boy, lonely and frightened. Kankuro paused for a moment. He spoke so softly, neither Gaara nor Temari heard him.

"What?" whispered a traumatized Temari.

"Temari, take me off of speakerphone. I need to talk to you."

"This is no time to chat! Gaara is…Well, I don't know what he is, but it isn't good!"

"It's urgent." His voice was frustratingly composed. Temari wiped at her tears and slid off the bed. She grabbed at the discarded phone, ignoring the pitiful cries from her younger brother. Speakerphone was silenced with a soft click. She pressed her ear to the phone.

"What do you want?"

"Leave the room. Gaara mustn't hear this." She did as told, stepping into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.

"Okay. Please, hurry."

"I can't calm him down, he's worse than the time-" Temari winced.

"Yes, yes, I know. But what can we do?"

"He won't stop. He's dangerous. Temari, listen. I'll give you until the end of this camp to break the news to him, but I'm taking him back to the mental hospital." The phone clanged against the tile floor.

She stood, her bare feet against the tile floor, her cheeks stained with tears. Everything was quiet. Her racing mind was blank, her senses were blocked. 3 seconds of peace.

Everything rushed back to her. In an instant she could hear Gaara's whimpers. She could feel the dull ache of her swollen eyes. She bent down slowly, reaching for the phone. She took a deep breath as Kankuro's muffled voice gradually became louder.

"-know it's hard, but we have to do it. I'm sorry. I don't want to either… Temari? Are you there?"

"Yes. I am here." She spoke slowly, as if tasting each word, "I disagree, Kankuro. We can fix him, I swear. Just give me a bit longer to figure something out. Another year, please!"

"We don't even know you- um…we- have another year!" He caught himself a bit too late. Temari felt a pang in her heart.

"You don't have to beat around the bush. I don't know how long I have, but I promise to save him. He's a good kid, just a bit-broken. Yes, broken." Kankuro sighed.

"Okay, sister.." he sounded a bit doubtful, "For now, I want you to give him his emergency medicine and stay with him until he relaxes. I have to go to work. Good luck."

Temari coughed a bit as she opened the bathroom door. Gaara was still writhing on the floor in pain, but seemed to be calming down a little. Temari pulled the needle out of her suitcase and filled it with fluid. She leaned down next to Gaara. His face was covered in cold sweat.

Temari brushed a bit of his hair out of his eyes before stabbing the needle into his arm.


	8. Chapter 6

**HOLA! I'm back. Yes, I forgot about this story...again...but hey, at least I'm still working on it. I could give up on it completely.... but I wouldn't do that. Unless I got lazy enough. The again, I am pretty lazy, so no promises. Well, here ya go. ENJOY**

**Oh yeah... *punches Naruto***

**N: HEY! What'd you do that for!**

**INAS: I don't own you, okay?**

**N: Uh... okay? but why'd you have to punch me?**

**INAS: eh, get over it. Here's a Ramen Popsicle. **

**N: WOAH.... THANKS INAS!**

**INAS: Yeah, I invented them. Now go away. You're way too loud.**

**N: OKAY! I get that a lot....**

**INAS: Gee, I wonder why...**

Sorrowful Sakura

Sakura stood at the foot of her roommate's bed, watching as the sleeping teen shifted slightly. Sakura was dressed in a nice T-shirt and a pair of worn denim jeans. Her cherry locks were swept back in a loose ponytail, leaving a few soft tendrils framing her face. Her phone buzzed quietly. Sakura dropped her eyes from her sleeping friends and picked up her cell. A small bell symbol danced across the screen. It read: 5 minutes!

"Oh shit, Hinata. Get up! Confessionals are in five minutes!" She shook Hinata slightly, hoping to get some sort of response. Nothing.

After several failed attempts at rousing the girl, Sakura decided to leave without her. She shoved her still-buzzing cell phone in her pocket, slapped on her sandals and was out the door in a second. Sakura sprinted down the hallway, out the cabin and to the campfire. It was empty.

"You've got to be kidding me." Sakura face palmed, plopping herself down on a log. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and glanced at the screen again. It read: 1 hour and 5 minutes. With a groan, Sakura turned off the buzzer and slipped her phone back. She tapped her foot, grumbling to herself.

"Ugh… I hauled ass out here for nothing. Damn phone." She stomped her foot, sending bits of dust into her eye. "Damn dust…"

"You having a rough time?" She turned towards the speaker, and her eyes met Kakashi, the camp counselor. He was carrying a load of firewood to the fire pit. Even without a shirt, he still kept on his strange mask.

"No, I'm fine. Thanks for asking." There was a long pause as Kakashi piled up the firewood. Sakura twirled a bit of loose hair around her finger. The lapse in conversation was getting awkward, at least in Sakura's opinion. She felt she had to say something…

"Is it part of your religion?"

"Huh?" Sakura blushed.

"Your mask, it is part of your religion. To wear it, I mean." Kakashi let out a deep laugh, making Sakura flush deeper.

"Never mind, it was a stupid-"

"No, no," he cut her off, "it was fine. Excuse my laughing; it's just that your guess was one of the best I've heard so far. Naruto asked me if I'd had plastic surgery." Sakura smiled at her counselor.

"So, why do you wear the mask?"

"Oh, one of my eyes is red and can predict every move you're about to make." There was an awkward silence.

"I'm just kidding, Sakura." Kakashi was dumbfounded. Had the girl actually taken him seriously? "I was born without eyesight in this eye, and I thought the mask would look mysterious." Sakura glanced up at Kakashi.

"Oh. Okay…Kakashi?"

"Yes?"

"Why is Sasuke going to jail?" Kakashi dropped the log a bit too hard. He took a deep breath and regained his composure.

"He's not going to jail- as long as he stays here, at least."Sakura wasn't satisfied with his answer. She didn't want to be nosy, but the curiosity was killing her. It wasn't like she could go ask Sasuke himself. Based on her last interaction with him, she'd probably end up asking him how the pregnancy was going. Sakura didn't do well under pressure…

"But why was he going-"

"Don't worry about it," Kakashi smiled at her through his mask. "If I were you, I'd stay away from Sasuke. He's not really… friendly." He spoke with confidence, but his eye told a different story. It was obvious he sympathized with the boy, but it seemed he thought of him as a lost cause.

His reluctance only encouraged Sakura to branch out to the boy. She was a stubborn girl and liked a good challenge. She'd been through hardship before; it wasn't as if she was weak.

"Okay, Kakashi. I'll take your word for it." A little white lie couldn't hurt. Now it was time to find her target. "I'm going to go back to my cabin. See you at Confessionals." Kakashi brushed the dirt off his hands.

"Okay, Sakura." She started to leave "Wait! Since I have a feeling you're going to directly disobey my orders, take this to Sasuke while you're at it." Sakura felt her face heat up. She turned around and walked back towards Kakashi. He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a thin white envelope.

"Here. He might not be too happy when he reads it, so forgive him. He's probably down by the lake, if you're wondering." He gave her a sad smile, the same one she'd seen at Confessionals the night before. "He's down there a lot." Sakura took the envelope from his calloused hands and tucked it in her own pocket. She started to turn, but paused briefly.

"Wait, how did you know he goes down to the lake a lot? It's only the second day."

"I've known him for a while. In fact, he's my adoptive son." Sakura froze. Wait… Kakashi was his _dad?_ She thought back to their interaction at Confessionals. Sure, he'd acted somewhat fatherly, but she'd assumed that was just how he acted towards everyone.

"Oh…That's…nice…" Sakura made an awkward escape into the forest. She didn't really know how to respond.

Despite the surprising news, she had to continue with her mission. She would melt the Iceberg known as Sasuke Uchiha if it killed her. She continued towards the lake with newfound confidence.

It wasn't a particularly long hike, but it was getting dark and cold, and Sakura felt goose bumps on her arms. She wanted to turn back, but it was too late now. As the sun set further, she scaled the last hill. The sun had almost disappeared completely as she came upon the lake front.

The sound of waves lapping at the shore was quite soothing. Sakura could understand why one would come here for alone time. She scanned the beach for Sasuke, but didn't see his silhouette on the horizon. Huh. So much for that. Sakura slid to the sandy floor and let out a sigh. She'd gone all this way for nothing. With a hint of poutiness, she pushed herself off the ground and started to head back to the campsite.

The air was quite cold by then, and Sakura could see her own breath. Unfortunately, her breath was about the only thing she could see in the deep shadows of the forest. She obediently followed the dirt path until she spotted a light.

Curious, she wandered into the forest to get a closer look. Maybe another camper was hiking this way. Hopefully they'd keep her company. To be honest, the forest was starting to creep her out a bit.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" There was no answer. Sakura walked deeper into the brush. She approached the light to find a discarded lantern hanging on a tree branch. With a sigh, she continued back towards the path.

After a few minutes of wandering aimlessly, Sakura concluded that she was lost. She sighed, reaching for her phone. It wasn't in her pocket. Panicking, she searched each pocket twice. It was gone. She groaned in misery. It seemed fate was out to get her.

"Great. Just fucking great. I'm going to be stuck in this damn forest forever." She mumbled.

_**Ha! You are sooo screwed.**_

_Nice of you to show up. Now go away._

_**Nah, I think I'll enjoy the show. **_

_…_

_**Hey, cheer up. I'm just teasing. It could have been worse. You could be naked.**_

_And how is this relevant?_

_**Well, being lost is bad, but being lost and naked? Much, much worse.**_

_You know, I've made a lot of mistakes today, but my worst was listening to you. So go away and let me think. Or at least help, for God's sake._

_**Hmph. Fine. Get the lantern. Start yelling for help. Don't panic. Can you handle that?**_

_Yeah. Thanks…for once you've provided me with valid input._

_**Well, I can't end on a GOOD note. Mmm, think of Sasuke's naked, sweaty body pressed against yours-**_

_Oh my god, now I'm thinking of that. Ah! Get it out of my head!_

_**Hehehe, score one for inner.**_

Sakura rolled her eyes and reached for the lantern. At least it still had batteries. She lifted it up and attempted to find her way back.

"Hello? Is anyone out there? I'm lost! I'd appreciate some help…" an owl hooted. Sakura frowned. It was hopeless. She laid down on a large rock and looked to the sky. It was really rather beautiful.

She stared at the stars for a long while, enjoying the view. She let out a little 'Oh' of surprise when she spotted a shooting star. She'd learned long ago that shooting stars were not really stars, but the magic was still there. She imagined every star as a person-not just the stars that were visible from her rock, but all stars- and she began to feel very, very small.

Was she but an insignificant speck? The world would keep turning without Sakura Haruno. She felt a pang of guilt for focusing too much on herself. It was then that she truly committed to her plan to heal Sasuke. If Sakura was so unimportant, then why was she put on earth? She wanted to help people, even if it meant living with unhappiness.

She was shaken from her deep thoughts by the sound of crunching leaves. Sakura sat up abruptly, startled by her visitor.

"What are _you_ doing here?" The raven-haired god snorted, brushing a lock of his hair off of his face. Sakura jumped off the rock at the sight of him.

"Oh, thank god! How'd you find me?"He blinked.

"You were…lost?" Sakura sweat dropped. He hadn't noticed her absence? Not even at Confessionals?

"Uh…yeah," Sakura brushed the dirt off of her jeans and suppressed a shiver. "Wait, but if you weren't looking for me, why'd you come here?" Sasuke ran his fingers through his hair, looking annoyed.

"Hn. None of you business," he turned around, retreating into the trees.

"Wait!" Sakura called to his withdrawing form. He paused. "Aren't you going to help me?"

"Tch. Whatever. Try to keep up." With a smile, Sakura ran after the Uchiha. They walked in silence for several minutes. While she usually found silence quite soothing, it now seemed tense and awkward.

"Uh… do you mind if I ask you some questions?" Great, she sounded like a detective. Sasuke paused for a second, startled by the sudden exchange.

"You're annoying." Sakura sighed, feeling a bit hurt.

"You've said that before."

"It's true."

"Ok."

Well, it wasn't exactly a deep conversation, but at least he had spoken to her. That was a start. Sakura wondered how she could get him to open up. It wouldn't be easy. As she ascended into deep thinking, a long howl broke her thoughts completely. She whimpered, moving closer to Sasuke.

"Was that-"

"Hn."

"Has anyone ever told you that you use 'Hn' too much?"

The howling got a bit louder. Sakura grabbed onto her companion's arm.

"Get off."

"Why!"

"You're cutting off my circulation."

"They'll eat me!"

"You're being ridiculous."

She let go with a huff, crossing her arms. They continued in silence, besides the morose howling. Sakura liked wolves, but only from a distance. She had a horrible fear of being eaten alive, and wolves have sharp teeth.

"They won't eat you." Sakura stared blankly at the boy.

"Huh?" Sasuke rolled his eyes and sighed in annoyance.

"Wolves rarely attack humans. We'll be fine."

She was pretty sure that was one of the nicest things she'd ever heard him say. He was comforting her… just like he comforted Hinata. But that still didn't make up for the fact that he was a complete asshole all the time. Sakura was starting to shiver again, so she reached her hands into her back pockets. Her left one fit in but her right was blocked by an envelope. Oh yeah, the letter. Sakura pulled it out of her back pocket and jogged to catch up with Sasuke.

"Hey! I was supposed to give you this." She held out the envelope. "It's from Kakashi."

The boy froze. His whole body seemed to tense as he turned to face her. He ripped the envelope from her grasp and shoved it in his pocket. With a small huff, he turned around and kept walking. Curiosity got the better of Sakura.

"So… are you going to open it?" He sighed, facing her again. This time he was much closer, and Sakura could feel a chill run up her spine under his stare. His eyes were the coldest she'd ever seen them.

"Look, can you just shut up and mind your own business. You're wasting your time prying into my life." He hissed, "Leave me the fuck alone."

Sakura gave him a sad smile. His words pained her, but she knew that was his goal. She stared through her watery eyes into his. His features seemed to soften under her stare. Suddenly, he didn't look like the cold criminal everyone labeled him as.

He looked like a little boy, eyes wide with uncertainty. He was lost, drowning in his own despair. One part of him begged to be touched, loved, listened to- but the other pushed away. No, Sakura decided, he wasn't a small boy. He looked much older. His eyes were so tired, like he'd seen more than a boy his age should.

He was standing very, very still. His hair ruffled a bit in the wind. Sakura leaned closer, studying his features. He had large eyes, Sakura noticed, and they seemed to be studying her the same way. Her eyes traveled down to his nose. He had a perfect nose. Like a girl's.

Sakura giggled as the thought entered her head. Sasuke stepped back, a bit confused.

"What are you laughing at?" He pouted a bit. Sakura laughed again, a bit louder. Sasuke ran a hand through his hair and attempted to recover from the ego bruising. Sakura smiled and poked his nose.

"You have the cutest nose. It's like a little girl's!" Sasuke twitched.

"My nose is _not _gir-" He was cut off by a blinding light shining directly at them.

"Hey, I thought I told you kids to quit making out ba- Sasuke? Sakura?"


End file.
